


Shelter

by TJS



Series: The Idiot Effect [5]
Category: HuGっと！プリキュア | Hug tto! Precure
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-01-13
Packaged: 2019-10-05 01:41:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17315672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TJS/pseuds/TJS
Summary: Whatever wrongs may have been committed in the past, Hana can't bring herself to ignore someone in need...especially when that someone is herself.





	Shelter

Hana was never good at sneaking around. She was clumsy, she was loud, and she was generally a bit stupid. So it was no surprise that as she tried to slip into the kitchen to snag a piece of cake for her new... _guest,_ she was immediately caught by Kotori. "...Onee-chan, what are you doing?"

" _Mechokku--!_ " Hana quickly spun around to face her sister, arms thrown up in a comical expression of surprise. "K-K-Kotori, a-aren't you supposed to be in bed?!"

Kotori stared with a flat expression. "Onee-chan, it's only 8:45 and we don't have school tomorrow."

"O-Oh yeah, aha...my bad..."

"...What are you hiding this time?"

"N-Nothing! Nothing at all, _little sister_!"

"...It took you three whole sentences to shoot some random English at me. You're definitely hiding something."

"H-Hey, I resent that! I-I was just coming to get a piece of cake...!"

"Yeah? Why were you being as sneaky as a hippo wearing a sweater made of jingle bells?"

"K-Kotori...! J-Jeez, fine, never mind!" Hana dashed out of the kitchen before Kotori could block her path and bounded up the stairs back to her room, dramatically slamming and locking the door.

"...Was that really necessary?" Hana's 'guest' was sitting politely on the bed as she'd been instructed, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders for the warmth that her patchwork 'dress' didn't provide.

Hana sighed. "Whether it was or not, it happened..." She unceremoniously plopped down next to her clone. "...Do you have a name?"

The clone shook her head. "The Doctor called me 'Ruby', but I don't think I really like that name..."

"Mm...do you want me to give you a new one...?"

"I think that'd be nice, yeah." The clone smiled a little.

Hana put on her best thinking face and thought hard, mumbling a few things to herself as they crossed her mind. "Ruby's out...maybe Dia? No, that's no good...Chika...? No, that doesn't sound right either...ugh, I wish Hanasaki-senpai were here, she--" Click. "Wait...Hanasaki...!" Hana grinned wide and turned to the clone. "Saki! Saki Nono!"

She blushed at that. "A-Are you sure you should give me your surname...?"

"Ahaha, well, you look pretty much identical to me, so we might as well embrace it rather than avoid it!"

"I see..." Saki gave a small nod. "Then...I'll accept it with pride~"

Hana grew a bit more serious. "Okay, Saki...I'm going to be honest. I trust you, but I need to hear everyone else's opinions...so...will you come to Beauty Harry with me?"

"...If I must suffer an interrogation to be granted the asylum I seek, then so be it." Saki bowed her head slightly.

"Okay. Let me just call everyone..." Hana dug out her PreHeart and pushed the blue button. "Hello, Saaya? Listen..."

 

*     *     *

 

Homare folded her arms as she stared at Hana and Saki with a cocked eyebrow. "...Two of them. Two Hanas. I'm not dreaming, am I?"

Hana and Saki shook their heads in perfect unison, then exchanged glances and giggled.

Saaya pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "...Hana...you brought us here...to talk with a potential enemy...without restraining her or anything?"

Hana grew serious. "Look...If she wanted to hurt me, she would've done it while I was unconscious on the balcony. No, I don't trust her yet...but I want to hear what she has to say first."

Ruru blinked and took her fingers away from her temple. "...I detect nothing that would make Saki a threat. She appears to just be a genetic clone of Hana on every level, and is thus powerless apart from being physically and mentally stronger."

Homare sighed. "Well, if that's all...I think we can ease up a teeny bit. Right, Saaya?"

"...I suppose so. ...Hm? Where's Emiru-chan...?"

 _"Here, I say!"_ The voice suddenly coming from nowhere startled everyone in the room except Ruru. _"I'm watching everything through Ruru's eyes."_

"Wh-where's your voice coming from...?"

_"...It's not important, I say! Just know that I am here!"_

"I see..." Homare sighed. "Mind if I ask the questions?"

"You may, Homare." Saaya stepped back a bit.

"Cool." Homare turned her gaze to Saki. "...Let's start with the obvious. _What_ are you?"

Saki took a deep breath. "...I am a genetic copy of Hana created from the ruby that was set in the mind-control headband Bishin used on her. The me you see right now is essentially a snapshot of me from right before I vanished."

"A clone?" Saaya seemed intrigued.

"Essentially, yes. Obviously, there are some differences...you can hear the distortion in my voice, and you can see my one miscolored eye. But on a genetic level, I _am_ Hana."

Homare nodded. "Next obvious question...what are you doing here?"

Saki balled her fists in her lap. "...After I was created, they tried to turn me into an anti-Precure human weapon. I refused, and by design I'm immune to brainwashing or 'reprogramming'. So they--" Saki's voice cracked with emotion, causing an unpleasant, screeching pop of static that caused the three humans to cover their ears and wince. Ruru had to screw her eyes shut and clutch her head for a moment until the sting abated. Saki covered her mouth upon realizing what had happened. "I-I'm sorry, I--"

_"F-Fine, it's fine, I say!"_

Hana reassuringly squeezed Saki's shoulder with a shaky smile. "It's fine, Saki-chan...if it's too hard for you to talk about, then..."

"N-No, I...I'm fine. I'll be fine. Just...I'm sorry about my voice..."

"It's not your fault, Saki. It's just how you were...born?" Homare shrugged. "Anyway...keep talking whenever you feel like you can. No rush."

"...Thank you..." Saki drew in a deep, shaky breath, relaxed her clenched fists, and continued. "...They...abused me, they tormented me, they tried to break my spirit in every conceivable way. I held out as long as I could, but I was at the end of my rope..." She trailed off and cast her eyes down at her hands, falling silent for a few moments. The pause dragged on a bit too long, and Hana uneasily shook Saki a bit...this, thankfully, snapped her back to reality. "A-And then, last night, I was able to take advantage of a tiny lapse in security." Saki let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "...S-Sorry, um...water? Can I have some water?"

"Sure...Saaya, can you...?"

"Mm, sure, Homare." Saaya walked back into the kitchen area, returning a short time later with a glass of water for Saki.

"Ah...thank you, my throat's feeling so dry..." The girls watched in silence as Saki drank the water. Well, silence save for the rapid mechanical clicking of Ruru's internal mechanisms as she continually scanned Saki. Saki didn't exactly seem thrilled by the scrutiny, but didn't voice any objections. Once she finished her drink, she put the empty glass on the table and continued.

. "...I slipped out into the lab, and when I saw a few of Traum's experiments I screamed...and that caused a lot of Traum's equipment to short out, including the collar he'd put around my neck. I took it off and smashed it on the ground, then made a mad dash out of there as alarms started blaring. Traum had Bishin chase after me, and he came within a hair's breadth of catching me too many times." She managed to suppress a voice crack, but it was clear she was on the verge of tears regardless. "I knew I couldn't escape, so I...I prayed. I prayed for a miracle, I prayed that somehow I'd be saved before Bishin killed me...and right as I felt his claws bite into my back, I suddenly just...whited out."

_"Whited out?"_

"Mm, whited out. Rather than my vision going black, it went white. I don't remember much after that...but then I came to kneeling next to Hana on the balcony."

Homare glanced toward Ruru. "...Well? Whaddya think?"

The clicking sounds abruptly snapped to a stop as Ruru took her fingers away from her temple. "I am inclined to believe she is telling the truth, as bizarre as it might be. Emiru, do you agree?"

_"I do, I say."_

Homare turned back to Saki. "One last question. What do you want from us?"

Saki was silent for a long moment before responding, but when she did she looked Homare right in the eye. "...I want to live. I want to be safe. I just...I just want to be able to exist in peace, with no one forcing their desires and expectations on me. I want to be...myself."

A definitive silence sort of just...hung there for a moment as the girls let it all sink in. Saaya was the first to speak. "...If that is what you truly wish, then...we welcome you with open arms, Saki-chan."

"Yeah, what she said. You've really got the same goal we all do...so we can't really turn you away."

"I concur."

_"Me, too, I say!"_

"Looks like it's unanimous~" Hana hugged Saki close with a big, stupid grin on her face. "Welcome to the club, Saki-chan~!"

Saki was surprised by the hug for sure, but even more surprised when the other three all piled on for a group hug with her at the center. It wasn't bad, though...she felt so...warm, happy, safe.

After a long moment, Emiru's voice broke the silence. _"How are you going to explain this to your parents, Hana-senpai?"_

Hana's mental record scratch was practically audible to everyone present.

 

*     *     *

 

Bishin leaned against the doorway as Traum picked through the damaged remains of his lab, completely devoid of his usual kooky antics. The Doctor muttered to himself with disdain as he passed by each broken and ruined experiment. "Broken...broken...damaged beyond repair...too disturbed to continue...samples contaminated..."

"...Look, Doctor, I hate to interrupt, but I asked you a question. Are we going after her or not? She's a big problem as long as she's loose."

Traum was silent for a moment, but just as Bishin was about to go over and shake him he stood up straight and turned to face Bishin, a smile on his face. "No, dear Bishin...this is personal. I will go alone...and I will make sure Ruby comes home safely. Besides..." Traum's smile turned into a death's-head grin that unnerved even Bishin. "Isn't it the father's job to punish his unruly children~?" He turned back to his desk, rummaged around in one of the drawers, and took out some sort of collar, like the one she'd been wearing when she escaped. "She's just going through a rebellious phase, that's all. Don't worry...I'll straighten her up." Traum left the room, leaving Bishin dumbfounded and a little afraid. After a few seconds he also left the lab, only one thought on his mind:

_I almost feel sorry for that little shit._


End file.
